Ok, NC DUers...defend your barbecue

[jmowreader]

The closest thing we have to a Holy War in North Carolina isn't about religion. It's about barbecue.

Western NC residents use a tomato-based barbecue sauce (or "barbecue dip" in Lexington County), whereas Eastern NC residents use vinegar with crushed red pepper. And to be honest, both of them taste good.

So come on all you Tar Heels and rise to the defense of your local barbecue.

[YNGW]

1. Asheville Reporting In

I've lived all over the South, and the vinegar BBQ is OK if they don't pour it on too heavy. Otherwise, :puke:

I perfer the tomato based BBQ because it's more like the BBQ you get elsewhere in the South.

The WORST BBQ is that mustard-based crap you get at Maurice's BBQ.

Sonny's BBQ is pretty good. So is Smokey Bones BBQ, Bono's BBQ, and a lot of the Mom and Pop BBQ places.

[mlawson]

2. Can't defend it; they put meat in it....

Now if they would make it with tofu, :-)

Actually, the 'yellow' sauce is very useful for Caribbean recipes.

[supernova]

3. Allen & Sons of Chapel Hill

of Chapel Hill and Pittsboro. Still use hickory to cook with. I prefer vinegar and pepper. I don't like sweet stuff. And save the tomatoes for the sandwiches. :9

[northofdenali]

4. NC barbecue is delicious!

But I've never been able to get a recipe for the vinegar-based sauce - anyone?

[supernova]

5. Just vinegar and crushed red pepper

perhaps a tiny, tiny, bit of sugar. But that's it. And not so much that the meat is swimming in it.

[jmowreader]

8. What recipe? It's apple cider vinegar and crushed red pepper!

Seriously, though, this is what I do...

You need a gallon of cider vinegar and an empty glass gallon jug--those used for apple cider are fine. You'll also need a big pot that's acid-proof, like a Visions dutch oven. And you need to remove the pet birds from your house when you do this, or do it at a bird-free neighbor's, or do it outside; the fumes from this product while it's cooking will kill captive birds.

I put the whole gallon of vinegar, about three cloves of sliced garlic, two tablespoons of kosher salt and two tablespoons of black pepper together in the big pot and let it simmer with a lid on it for an hour or so. Remove from the heat and let it sit on the counter until it gets cold. Not lukewarm--cold.

I then strain out the garlic, put a whole jar of crushed red pepper in it, and simmer it for another hour. Once again, remove it from the heat and let it get cold on the counter. You don't strain the pepper flakes out of it. At this time, you can add any additional spices you like; I enjoy a bit of Old Bay in mine. Chef Paul's Meat Magic would be good too. Maybe a tablespoon.

Now comes the fun part: When properly made, this stuff smells like Tabasco mainly because it is Tabasco. If yours doesn't, add just a little bit of Tabasco to it. Stir very well. If you want to test it for flavor, get a little piece of cooked chicken (what I do is to roast up a chicken the day before and put it in the fridge), heat a little bit of the sauce in the microwave and dip the chicken in the sauce. If it's right, you'll know it. When it's where you want it, funnel it into the glass jug.

I then leave it in the back of the refrigerator for about a month before I use it.

How to use: Mix equal parts NC barbecue sauce and oil in a cup, and brush it onto your roasting meat.

[northofdenali]

17. Thank you both! Now the weather has to warm up enough

to fire up the grill!

[tarheel]

37. There are about as many

recipes for eastern NC barbeque sauce as there are eastern North Carolinians. Mine is a bit different from supernova's. I use vinegar, crushed red pepper, Texas Pete ( or tobasco), a bit of Worchestershire sauce and a little sugar.

And of course you cannot serve barbeque without hushpuppies and slaw ! Now that opens a whole 'nother can of worms as to what is the best recipe for those Carolina delicasies !

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. I think they use vinegar

because it was so freakin' hot down there that they needed something to cover up the gamey taste of rotting meat in the days before refrigeration... ;-)

[jmowreader]

9. Vinegar is a tenderizer

Everyone had a curing house in the days before refrigeration, which is why half the Old Southern Farmhouse Recipes call for some sort of cured meat. They used vinegar because the little bit of fresh meat you got was tough as leather and you needed some way to soften it up.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. That's interesting...

So did they barbecue squirrels and oppossums, too?

I'm serious...my Georgia Granddad used to tell us stories about hunting squirrels, robins, and oppossums for fresh meat. He never mentioned how it was prepared, though...

[Misinformed01]

12. No, squirrels are stewed usually

Brunswick Stew comes to mind. They are still eaten down here in some places.

Possums I am not sure about...but, I would suspect stew for them also.

[supernova]

13. Squirrels - brine soak

is mostly what I've seen, then roast or boil as usual. I tried one once when I was little. '

No, it did not taste like chicken. :P

[JanMichael]

14. Hey baby! Stop talking about my future dinners!!!!

Let's just go veggie, eh?

Love you WAY WAY WAY more that the other DU women!!!!!!! Even better that the DU guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michael:evilgrin:

PS~ Yes Shakeydave has gotten me somewhat inebriated...Talk to you very soon!

[lazarus]

24. mmm....squirrel

My grandmother used to fix an awesome squirrel gravy that went great with cathead biscuits.

My cousin and I would shoot them, bring them in, and Grandma would work her magic. Amazing stuff, incredibly tasty.

Squirrel itself isn't much to write home about, not enough meat on them to do much more than turn them into stock or gravy.

Now frog legs from frogs you caught yourself....

That's fine Southern eating.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

34. I've gotta ask...

What are cathead biscuits?

[lazarus]

35. lol

I figured that'd raise an eyebrow or two.

They're your basic biscuit (self rising flour, milk or, preferably, buttermilk, and bacon drippings or other tasty grease). But you cut them and roll them into balls with your hand, about the size of a cat's head. Brush 'em on top with the aforementioned grease, and bake. Best done in a nice cast iron skillet.

Damn, I gotta fix me some now. No squirrel. I'll just fix some redeye gravy. Or 'mater gravy. Or sawmill gravy.

Mmm...

Love me some southern cooking.

[jmowreader]

20. I think you boil or stew them

You could grill a squirrel or a possum if you'd a mind to, but normally when you're eating possum you aren't looking for the exquisite taste of small game but rather trying not to starve. IIRC Granny Clampett stewed them.

One of our squad leaders in Korea we called Possum because he always talked about eating possums. Finally we asked him if he ate lots of possums growing up. Turned out his dad was the richest man in town--the doctor--and so no, they never had to eat possum...but they had a freezer full; some of the poorest patients would bring him possums as payment for his services. These he would skin, dress and freeze because the townsfolk who liked eating possum but were not able to get their own for some reason would buy them from Dr. Jones. Doctor Jones Family Medical Clinic and Meat Market--you just don't see places like that in the big city, I'm here to tell ya.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

33. My grandmother used to cook possum

during the depression. She would trap them, cage them and feed them people food for a few days to clean them out and fatten them up. After that they became dinner. My dad said possum was very greasy.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

38. "clean them out"?

What'd she give them...prunes? :D

[jpak]

7. One word - Dreamland

y'all lose

Big Time

:)

[northofdenali]

19. The Dreamland in Tuscaloosa? TO DIE FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd kill for some Dreamland ribs along about now!

[trof]

23. The Dreamland in Mobile? yuck

Worst ribs I've ever had (mostly fat), PLUS they were OUT OF FRENCH FRIES!!!
How can you be "OUT" of fries at a barbecue joint?

[styersc]

28. Funny Dreamland story-

when I left Tuscaloo in 1991 the owner had just been busted for tax evasion (lots of unclaimed cash transactions) and his lawyer pulled off a very clever "community service" arrangement by which the owner would make BBQ for the state to feed prisoners. All sorts of letters to the editor were published complaining that if people knew that you could get free Dreamland in Alabama prisons that the crime rate would soar. I don't know how it was resolved.

True story.

[lazarus]

25. OH YESSSSS!

Once you've eaten Dreamland ribs, nothing else matches up. Best ribs on the planet, by far. And I've eaten ribs all over the country.

For loose barbecue, I prefer Carolina, but for ribs, nothing beats the Tuscaloosa Dreamland.

I still think they lost something when they paved the road in the 80's. :D

[styersc]

27. Dreamland Tuscaloosa Alabama

white bread, cold beer and nothing else.

'Nuff said.

[lazarus]

36. served on paper plates, remember!

I love that place.

You'd come in with your group, sit down, and the waiter (oldest son, right?) would come over and ask for your drink order. Then he'd gauge how hungry you were, and how many folks there were, and how big you were, and just say something like, "Y'all gonna need about three and a half slabs." Then he'd walk off, and come back with the slabs.

And those big stacks of white bread to sop up the sauce with.....

Damn, I have got to get back to Alabama.

[bleedingheart]

11. Is it okay for PAers to weigh in???

I ADORE the vinegar barbecue! Yummy!!!

[TrogL]

15. We no longer follow Mosaic Code

There is no need to perform burnt offerings in your backyard.

[supernova]

16. LOL! We must pay homage

to the Hog God!

[Dees]

18. I remember years ago I was in Greensboro on business

and some of the locals invited us "Yankees" to go to one of their favorite BBQ places. I ordered a BBQ platter. When it was put in front of me I said to myself.."what the F*** is this"? It was pulled pork in a vinegar and pepper sauce. This is BBQ? It was actually very, very good. I was hooked. I love both styles. Bryant's in KC is a favorite for tomato based BBQ.

[Endangered Specie]

21. I tend to prefer Eastern BBQ, but both can beat any other BBQ hands down!

And I will Eat western BBQ just as fast and as much

[Padraig18]

22. Vinegar-base!

A good friend of mine's father owns a BBQ restaurant in Chicago (originally from GA), and he only uses salt, pepper, vinegar and water to cook his with. DEE-licious stuff! *drool* :)

[BlackVelvetElvis]

26. I believe you mean Davidson County

Lexington is the county seat. We call that Lexington-style.
Anyway, I like both, but being from Davidson County, I prefer the Lexington BBQ.
Chopped white with hush puppies, slaw and banana pudding.
So good you don't even need the dip.
I usually go to Speedy's in Lexington for my BBQ.

[ngGale]

29. Fuzzy's can't be beat...

and I love their Bar-B-Que slaw. Lexington has great BBQ too. Has to be cooked outside with hickory chip's a long time to get it smoked just right. Now that's good and becoming a lost art. We have Bar-B-Que festival's to keep that art going. Yummmm!!!!

[supernova]

30. Welcome to DU ngGale!

:hi:

There's quite a few NC DUers around. Make yourself at home and have a :beer:

[Blue_Tires]

31. KC > NC n/t

[snooper2]

32. Come on over to Dallas

And I will show you the shiznit :)